What does fMRI tell us about the brain?

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures the small changes in blood flow that occur with brain activity. fMRI may detect abnormalities within the brain that cannot be found with other imaging techniques.

How does fMRI affect behavior?

Participants’ behavior during task performance in an fMRI scanner can then be correlated to the brain activity using the blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal. Thus, in many cases these errors can be used themselves to then correlate brain activity to them.

What may be the problem with conducting an auditory experiment when a patient is inside an fMRI scanner?

Energetic masking highlights the most obvious challenge of using auditory stimuli in fMRI: Subjects may not be able to perceive auditory stimuli due to scanner noise. If stimuli are inaudible—or less than fully perceived in some way—interpreting the subsequent neural responses can be problematic.

How does fMRI help psychology?

Greater spatial resolution allows psychologists to discriminate between different brain regions with greater accuracy. Consequently, psychologists can determine the activity of different brain regions with greater accuracy when using fMRI, in comparison to when using EEG and/or ERP.

Which brain area is measured by fNIRS?

Most notably, fMRI has been used to show involvement of the parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC), the visual temporal sylvian area (VTS) in the insular cortex, the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the inferior parietal lobe (IPL), the anterior cingulum, and Broadman area 6a (premotor cortex).

Why is fNIRS important?

The main advantage of fNIRS over EEG/ERP is the localization of responses. In fNIRS, the effects are localized within 1–2 cm of the area activated, allowing for more accurate identification of the areas from which cortical responses were obtained than electrophysiological techniques.

Which method of studying the brain would most accurately identify specific brain areas activated during a cognitive task?

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a brain-scanning technique that measures blood flow in the brain when a person performs a task. fMRI works on the premise that neurons in the brain that are the most active during a task use the most energy.

How do scientists study the brain?

Scientists can look at the function and anatomy of neurons in healthy people and compare them to neurons in brains affected by disease. One device commonly used to explore the brain is called functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI. fMRI measures changes in the brain as they are happening.